


Beauty and the Beast Series

by M_EXO



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22741903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_EXO/pseuds/M_EXO
Summary: Also known as "X-EXO falling in love with someone who's scared of them" based onthis postby the same name.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Reader, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Reader, Kim Jongin | Kai/Reader, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Reader, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Reader, Oh Sehun/Reader, Park Chanyeol/Reader, Zhang Yixing | Lay/Reader
Comments: 22
Kudos: 160





	1. Kāi

**Author's Note:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M
> 
> * Important note*: In respect of Jongdae’s family, I will no longer be writing romantic plots for him, so I will not be writing his part in this series.

The first time he saw you, he knew he had to have you. You were walking down the street with your friends, the biggest smile on your face with the streetlights giving you an almost ethereal glow. You looked like an angel. You looked like pure light – everything that Kāi was not.

He didn’t know where he came from, or how, all he knew was that he just… was. His memories were a mess, all jumbled up and some missing. What he did know was that he was not like other people. He looked nothing like the men he saw walking down the streets and whenever someone saw him, they ran away like they had seen a monster. So he wondered if that was what he really was… a monster.

But he wanted to be near you. He wanted to be with you. So he took a chance. He had been following you for a while from a distance, hoping he could get you alone. By now, he knew where you worked and where you lived, but he didn’t want to corner you and make you feel hunted. He didn’t want you to be scared of him.

It was late evening time and you were heading home from work, walking down the deserted streets. Kāi observed you from his hiding spot in the shadows. His heart was hammering away and his palms felt sweaty. This was it, he was going to try and talk to you.

Slowly, he took a small step out of the shadows but he hesitated. He stopped. He couldn’t do it. Not to you. Following you around like that? He knew it was wrong. It was scary.

You came closer and he quickly slipped back into the shadows, pressing himself against the alley wall so you wouldn’t see him.

As you passed him something fell out of your pocket but you continued like you hadn’t felt it. Kāi watched as you walked further and further away, hoping you would notice on your own. But you didn’t. So before he could second guess it, he quickly left the shadows and picked up the wallet you had dropped.

“E-excuse me,” he called but it was too quiet for you to hear, so he tried again a bit louder. “Uhm, excuse me. You dropped this.”

Finally, you heard him and you spun around. It was like an electric shock went through Kāi as you looked right at him for the first time. Your eyes zeroed in on the wallet in his hands however, apparently not noticing anything else as you patted down your jacket only to realize that it was indeed your wallet.

“Oh, thank you so much!” you gushed, closing the distance between you and him to take back the wallet. Kāi felt like he was frozen in place as you came closer and closer. He wanted to run and hide. He didn’t want you to look at him, already dreading the fear in your eyes.

When reaching out to take the wallet back, you looked up at Kāi with a smile that froze on your face when coming face to face with him. His messy green hair would stand out in any crowd, but it was his eyes that freaked people out the most.

You had paused, hand outstretched in front of you, just staring at Kāi with wide eyes and the smile frozen on your face in almost a grimace. Kāi felt shame creeping up his body, feeling like it was pressing down on his chest. He quickly tore his gaze away from you, looking down so his hair would fall down and cover his eyes.

“I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled, shoving the wallet into your outstretched hand. He needed to get away. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Without looking back, he disappeared with a soft pop, appearing back in the shadows of the alley where he belonged. Being there had been a mistake. He should never have followed you. He should never have shown himself.

-

He couldn’t stay away though he had tried. He just wanted to make sure that you were safe. So Kāi watched you from a distance, heart beating fast every time you would smile. Oh, how he wanted you to smile at him just once.

While waiting for you one day, Kāi watched as people walked up and down the busy streets, hating how normal they all looked. Then, a guy caught his eye – he was wearing a hat very low on his head, covering his hair and most of his forehead, and a pair of dark sunglasses that completely covered his eyes. You could barely see his face. 

If Kāi wore that, could he talk to you? If it was even just once, it would be worth it. So he stole a disguise from some shop stands that stood out in the street, easy for the taking. You would probably never approve of stealing, but he was desperate. When he looked at his reflection in a window, he looked just like everyone else. He had stolen clothes weeks ago that didn’t stand out like his previous leather outfit would have. Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

He had seen people buy flowers for each other before so he picked some in a nearby park, hoping you would like them.

As if the goddess of luck was on his side, he found you sitting alone in a café, working on your computer. He hesitated by the window, watching you for a minute. Should he do it? Would you recognize him?

He had to try. With his heart pounding, he entered the café, his whole body tensing up. There were so many people around him and nowhere to run if things turned bad. But you were worth it.

Slowly he approached you, going over in his head what he wanted to say to you. He came to a stop by your table and you looked up with a polite smile.

“H-here,” he said shyly, holding out the flowers. “I uhm, I saw you from the window and thought you were pretty.”

“Oh,” you said, a little taken aback but smiling nonetheless as you accepted the flowers. “Thank you, that’s… that’s very sweet of you.”

Giving a shy smile of his own, Kāi quickly made his escape. He had no idea what else to say. What to do. You had been looking right at him and he felt like you could see right through his disguise. He didn’t want to mess up again. Your smile had been enough. This would be the last time he approached you.

_

Once again Kāi had been lying to himself. He couldn’t stay away. Whether it be flowers or a pretty stone he had found, he kept finding excuses to give you little gifts whenever he saw you. He was afraid you would find it weird, but you would smile every time. Your name was Y/N, you told him after asking about his. 

Sometimes, if you spotted him first, you would even greet him like you were happy to see him. You would even talk to him, ask him about his day. Your short meetings turned into long conversations that Kāi tried to keep up with despite his limited knowledge of the world. But you didn’t seem to mind his awkwardness. Kāi was living in a dream. It seemed too good to be true. It was the closest to being normal he had ever been.

And of course, something had to go wrong.

Kāi was walking you home from work because you had insisted on showing him something in the park that you thought he’d like.

You were talking about your day and Kāi was listening happily, soaking up every detail. He loved hearing about other people; wanted to know how the world worked. As you finished another story, you smiled up at him before tilting your head questioningly.

“How come I’ve never seen you without your sunglasses?” you asked curiously. “I don’t think you’ve taken off your hat either.” 

Kāi stumbled; panic welling up in his chest. “O-oh, I – uhm. My eyes… they’re uhm…” His mind was reeling in thinking of something to say but he couldn’t think of anything.

“Kāi?” you asked, now looked worried. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”

Oh, how he hoped that was true. He was terrified to take the chance, but he knew he couldn’t hide forever. Someday you would want answers. Might as well get it over with so he could go and mend his broken heart.

“My eyes are… different,” he eventually mumbled. “They’re ugly.”

“Oh I’m sure that’s not true,” you said, always so kind. He wanted to believe your smile so so bad. But he already knew what you thought of them. You had seen them before and you didn’t even realize it.

He just shook his head. His hands were shaking.

Gentle hands touched his face and he flinched but you just smiled softly. “May I?” you asked.

He couldn’t deny it when you looked at him like that. But he let you wait for a second, wanting to take in your face while you were still smiling at him so prettily. Then, he nodded, heart breaking as he felt your hands grab the sunglasses. From now on he would have to go back to watching you from afar.

As you slipped off his glasses, Kāi pulled off his hat as well, dropping it to the ground in defeat. Might as well show you everything.

His eyes stayed firmly locked on the ground. He heard the small gasp you let you and saw the sunglasses getting dropped at his feet as your hands went up to cover your mouth. In shock or surprise, he couldn’t tell, he was too afraid to look at you. Tears burned in his eyes.

He wanted to disappear and his body tensed up as it prepared for a jump. He was already picturing the oh so familiar alleyways where he had spent countless of hours.

With one last glance up at your face, he gave you a tearful smile and then vanished into thin air. As he appeared back in the alley, he sunk to his knees. It felt like he couldn’t breathe. Your face had been completely white, eyes wide. Just like the first time you had seen him.

Hours passed as he sat there. He didn’t know how many but the sun had slipped under the horizon long ago when he finally found the strength to get up.

With a hollow feeling in his chest, he got out onto the street, no idea where he was going to go. But he couldn’t sit still any longer. Maybe he should find a new city to live in? One where he wouldn’t be as tempted to go and find you.

Soft footsteps behind him made him pause and he slowly turned around, ready to flee if necessary. He froze.

You were standing there, panting like you had been running, your hair a mess and face red. In your arms, you were clutching what looked like Kāi’s hat and sunglasses. 

“Y/N…?” he asked, hope bubbling up inside his chest.

Straightening up, you sent him a careful smile and slowly stepped closer. Kāi didn’t dare say anything as you moved towards him, afraid you would vanish like smoke if he even breathed. But you were right there in front of him.

You stopped in front of him and looked up, meeting his eyes. Kāi immediately tried to look away but you held his gaze.

Kāi watched, terrified, as your eyes slowly studied his face. When you finally met his eyes again, there was no fear.

You smiled at him.


	2. Bäekhyun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M

Bäekhyun grinned as he spotted you exiting the gym. He had been waiting for you, knowing that you went there every Tuesday after work. With a confident smirk on his face, he headed straight for you. He didn’t even notice the stares and the whispers following him, people around him backing away in fear of the strange boy.

He didn’t care that he looked strange in their eyes as he only had eyes for you. You were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He hadn’t been in the Human world for long when he saw you and from then on, he hadn’t been able to think about anything else. You were everything he wanted.

His old life had been dark. He couldn’t remember much from before he arrived in the Human world, couldn’t even remember how or why he had gotten there. All he knew was that he had suffered. And that he had made people suffer. His memories were a blur and he had wandered the streets of the Human world for many nights, confused and disoriented.

And then he had seen you, like a beacon of light in the haze of the Human world. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he was drawn to you. He had an affinity for light but you shone brighter than any he could ever conjure.

The second you spotted him, you froze in your tracks, the smile on your face dropping to something Bäekhyun couldn’t quite understand. He grinned.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, voice almost a whisper. “I – I thought I told you to leave me alone.”

“But that means I wouldn’t get to see you and your beautiful smile,” Bäekhyun said with an exaggerated pout. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

You didn’t answer. Your eyes were flickering around to the people around you and when you noticed the stares, you hugged your arms close to yourself. You looked uncomfortable and Bäekhyun cocked his head curiously. Perhaps you weren’t a person that liked public displays of affection. He could respect that.

“Would you rather we go somewhere private?” he asked, the confident grin still on his face. He would like nothing more than to get you somewhere private. But you would always make your escape before he could make a move.

That only made him like you even more. You made him work for it.

Redness spread from your neck to your face, your eyes widened and you took a single step backwards. Tilting his head to the other side, Bäekhyun stepped forward, chuckling playfully. You never made it easy for him.

“I – I really have to go,” you mumbled before walking away quickly. And once again you made your escape.

Bäekhyun looked around. People were still staring at him, some were looking after you with worried frowns. Why were they looking at you like that? Why were they looking at him like he was going to explode any second? He looked down himself. He had washed off the blood long ago from when he arrived, so it couldn’t be that. Oh well. Shrugging, he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away.

He would see you again tomorrow.

_

You were staring at Bäekhyun in disbelief as he walked up to you confidently. Wednesdays you spent at the library, studying all afternoon. Bäekhyun liked watching you study; the concentrated frown on your face and the way you bit your lip when you had trouble understanding something. You looked so cute and he could watch you for hours.

“I’m here to walk you home,” he grinned, bowing exaggeratedly. “It’s not safe walking the streets at night.”

He didn’t actually know where you lived. He had never followed you that far. You would take him there yourself when you were ready

“T-thank you,” you said, lips coming up in a smile that didn’t reach your eyes. “But I’m sure I’ll be fine. It…” your voice broke but you cleared your throat. “It really isn’t necessary.”

Bäekhyun frowned. It was already dark out and you had to walk through the deserted streets of the city alone. There were monsters on the streets at night, monsters worse than him. You could get hurt, and he simply could not let that happen.

He held up his hand, a small ball of pure white light forming in it. “Please, it’ll make me sleep better tonight if I know you’re safe,” he begged.

You looked incredibly pale in the light of the glowing orb, your eyes wide as you stared into the light. The shadows it cast on your face made it look almost as if you were frightened. Bäekhyun had been right; you didn’t really want to walk home alone. You probably just didn’t want to burden him. He wished you would let him take care of you. 

“I… o-okay,” you mumbled, eyeing Bäekhyun with a look he couldn’t quite decipher.

“Lead the way.” Bäekhyun gestured for you to go first and after hesitating, you slowly started walking. He smiled to himself and followed right behind, keeping up your pace so he could walk beside you.

The whole time you walked, you kept your arms around yourself and Bäekhyun thought you seemed uncomfortable. You shivered and Bäekhyun quickly took off his jacket, putting it around your shoulders. The second he touched you, you flinched back with a squeak and Bäekhyun paused, confused.

“You seemed cold,” he said, not liking the way you were looking at him. You looked… nervous. “Take my jacket, please.” 

You stared at him for a while and to Bäekhyun’s horror, he realized your eyes were filling with tears. He watched bewildered, as the tears started rolling down your cheeks and you hugged your arms closer to yourself, flinching further back from him.

“Please,” you whimpered, a sob shaking your whole body. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

A ball of ice fell into Bäekhyun’s stomach. _What?_ Hurt you?

“What you do want from me?” you cried. “I can’t take this anymore.”

Bäekhyun didn’t know what to do with himself. You were standing there, looking so small while crying. You thought he was going to _hurt_ you? Images of your face flashed through Bäekhyun’s mind; every expression he hadn’t been able to decipher and it all suddenly made sense. You had never avoided him to play hard to get, you had avoided him because you were _scared_.

He took a step back, hands shaking at the cold realization washing over him. All of this time he had been following you around, playing games, having no idea that in reality you were terrified. When you had looked into his light earlier, you had taken it as a threat and not as protection. 

“Y/N,” he pleaded, voice nearly a whisper. “I would never hurt you, I swear. I – I never realized I was scaring you, it was never my intention. I’m so so sorry. All I ever wanted was to make you smile…”

He trailed off and dared to look up at you.. You were still crying, silent tears running down your cheeks, arms wrapped tightly around yourself. It broke Bäekhyun’s heart to see you shiver like that so he tried lifting his jacket once again, slowly to not spook you.

“Please, at least take my jacket. You’re freezing,” he mumbled. You eyed him and the jacket warily but as a particularly chilly wind blew down the street, you slowly reached up to take it. Bäekhyun smiled sadly. How could he not have seen the fear in your eyes before?

“I know you don’t want to see me right now,” he started, feeling the words get caught in his throat at the mere thought of never seeing you again. “But please, at least let me walk you home so that I know you’re safe. Then I’ll leave you alone. I promise.”

The words stung but he knew it was the right thing to do. He wanted to protect you and right now that meant leaving your side. He was the monster he had to protect you from.

“Why?” you asked softly after a moment of silence. Your tears had stopped.

“Why?” he repeated, not fully understanding what you were asking.

“Why are you doing this? Why me?”

“I…” Bäekhyun didn’t quite know what to say. He didn’t really understand himself; why he was so drawn to you. From the moment he saw you, there had been a pull in his chest that he couldn’t explain. That he couldn’t ignore. But how could he explain that to you without sounding insane? “I saw you and I felt…” he sighed deeply, looking up into your eyes. “I felt something, I never have before. Something I didn’t think I could feel.”

You didn’t say anything but Bäekhyun didn’t expect you to. He didn’t expect anything from you; how could he?

There was another moment of silence as you took in his words. You eyed Bäekhyun thoughtfully, eyes now more curious than scared. “What are you?”

Another question Bäekhyun didn’t have the answer for. He chuckled humorlessly. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I don’t remember. I don’t even know why I don’t remember. I just… am, I guess.”

His past was a blur. His whole identity was a blur. But you were real. Had that been why he tried to hold on so tight?

You shivered once again and without his jacket, Bäekhyun realized just how cold it was.

“Let’s get you home,” he said. “I’ve kept you out here for long enough. You don’t want to get sick.”

This time, you didn’t hesitate for long before nodding and you began walking again. When you made no move to shoo Bäekhyun away, he trailed after you, intending to keep his promise of getting you home safely.

The two of you walked the rest of the way in silence. Not once did you look back at Bäekhyun and from the few glanced he got of your face, you seemed deep in thought. He didn’t dare disturb you. He tried not to hope, knowing it was futile. But there was a small light still burning inside of him that hoped you would not turn him away. 

You came to a stop and Bäekhyun realized you had reached an apartment complex. So this was where you lived? His heart sunk. He would never see you again.

He looked at you, wanting to remember your face. You were already looking at him, still caught in your own thoughts. It felt like an eternity passed as the two of you stood there, looking at each other. But you were the first to break eye contact and Bäekhyun’s hope dwindled as you pulled off his jacket, holding it out to him.

“Keep it,” he said, voice breaking. “I don’t need it.”

Slowly, you pulled it back, hugging it to your chest with a nod. He didn’t understand what the look in your eyes meant. Was it still fear? No… it was something else. But what, he didn’t know. 

“Thank you, for letting me walk you home,” he said, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. “I promise I won’t bother you again. I’m sorry for everything. I never intended – “ his voice broke again. “I never meant for it to come to this. I’m sorry.”

Unable to look you in the eyes any longer, he turned around and started walking away. With every step away from you, Bäekhyun’s heart cracked a little more. But it was better like this. For you at least.

“Bäekhyun,” you called out and he froze, slowly turning to look at you. You were… smiling at him. Even in the darkness, he was sure of it.

“Don’t disappear completely,” you said, hugging his jacket close.

A thousand tiny lights burst from Bäekhyun’s body, lighting up the night around them. He smiled back tearfully. “I won’t,” he promised. 


	3. Lây

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M

Lây placed a daisy by your window, smiling to himself as he looked at the starry sky pattern on your curtains. He hadn’t been able to find any other flowers for you this time, but he liked daisies, and he hoped you did too. You had liked the tulip he found once, and the pretty sparkly rock.

Though he knew he could give you better and more expensive gifts by simply stealing, he was sure you wouldn’t appreciate it. You weren’t that type of person. He only stole what he needed when he needed it; food, clothes – only the essentials. Looking like he did, it was impossible to get a paying job. He had tried; he wanted to be like everyone else. He wanted to be someone who was worthy of being with someone like you. But no one wanted him.

He didn’t even know what he was, only that he wasn’t human. Some people had called him a monster but he didn’t understand. He looked strange – one eye white and one black, his hair dark blue. But that didn’t make him a monster, did it? He had never hurt anyone. Or… at least not that he could remember. There were flashes of red in his memories, but he didn’t know what they were or where they came from. He was not sure he wanted to remember.

His power could heal, so he liked to tell himself that he would never hurt anyone. 

After waking up in this world, he had wandered around for many months, trying to find a purpose. Why was here brought there? Why did he even exist?

Then he had met you. It had been dark outside, late night on a weekend, and you had been out with your friends. He had been sitting on the curb under a streetlight, eating a stale sandwich he had fished out of a trash can. His clothes were dirty and torn as it had been a while since he last stole. Most people walked around him with a wide birth, some even crossing the street completely to avoid him. And they couldn’t even see what he really looked like under the cap he had covering his face.

But you had approached him – ignoring your friends trying to talk you out of it – and asked if he was okay, if he needed anything. A stupid and dangerous decision that could have gotten you hurt, but you didn’t care.

Lây hadn’t known what to do with himself. Someone as beautiful and kindhearted as you shouldn’t be wasting their time on someone like him. He didn’t deserve it.

Your friends had pulled you away before anything else could be said, but Lây was too captivated to let you go like that. He wasn’t proud to admit it, but he had followed you home that night. And then for weeks, ashamed of himself for invading your personal life like that, he had tried his best to forget all about you.

But he couldn’t. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was your kind smile as you had leaned down to talk to him.

He wanted to make you smile too.

At first, you had been confused by the little gifts left in your window. The first had been a flower too, and you had slowly picked it up before looking around to see if you could see who had left it. Lây always made sure to stay out of sight though; he was too scared to show himself to you.

That morning was no different. He watched from behind your neighbours shed as you pulled apart your curtains, already looking down at the windowsill to see what had been left for you. 

The most beautiful smile spread across your lips as you picked up the daisy and brought it to your nose, eyes fluttering as you breathed in the flowery scent. Lây was so captivated by your smile it was only when he made direct eye contact with you, he realized that he had stepped too far out from behind the shed. You took a startled step back when your eyes met. 

The sun was shining straight into Lây’s eyes and dread washed over him – his face wasn’t covered.

It had only been a second of you looking at each other before he threw himself back into the shadows of the shed and took off down the street, but the face you had made had burned itself into his mind. Fear.

And of course, you had been scared. A homeless man had followed you home and left weird things in your window for weeks. What had he been thinking?

_

It had been days since Lây had last seen you. He had been hiding in the shadows, too ashamed of himself to go out into the daylight. Never had the stares of people around him affected him that much, but now it felt like they were burning holes. It made him want to shrivel up and disappear.

He had tried to leave town multiple times, but he couldn’t. Though he didn’t see you, he wanted to be near you. Just knowing you were close helped keep the darkness in his mind at bay. He wanted to see you just once more though. Just once and then he hoped he would be able to leave. It wasn’t healthy for him to continue like that and he didn’t want to risk running into you.

So, the next morning, Lây was behind the shed as usual, hoping to catch a glimpse of your face. This time he made sure to stay hidden so you wouldn’t spot him.

His heartbeat sped up as your curtains moved, revealing your tired yet still beautiful face. Making sure to stay completely hidden behind the shed this time, Lây tried to imprint every little detail in his mind. He would never be able to forget your face, but he just wanted to keep looking at you.

This morning he hadn’t left you a gift. He didn’t want to scare you by reminding you he was out there. Though it hurt, he hoped you had forgotten about him. You deserved better.

After pulling the curtains, you looked down at the windowsill where the gift would usually be. When there was none, you sighed deeply and… looked disappointed? Lây wasn’t sure he believed his own eyes; there was no way. 

Then you looked up and over at the shed and for a split second your eyes met but Lây jumped back in the same second and took off running.

This had been a bad idea. He should never have gone. He only hoped that you hadn’t seen him.

He didn’t stop running until he reached the alley, where he spent most nights. At the very end, it led into a now-empty building, and though the entrance had been boarded up, there was still a broken window that Lây could just about fit through. It was dark and dirty, but it was dry and sheltered from the wind. He wasn’t going to miss it one bit though. You were the only thing about this place he was going to miss.

Lây sulked in the abandoned building the rest of the day and only ventured out once the hunger got too much to bear. By then, it was already dark out and for once, Lây didn’t bother covering up. He was leaving anyway, so why bother hiding any longer.

Shuffling along the street, Lây kept his head down as he looked for anything to eat. There weren’t a lot of people out but those who were, kept a wide berth to Lây. He didn’t mind though.

“Hey,” someone called behind Lây, but he didn’t care to look back at whoever it was. No one ever called him anyway.

“Hey, wait!” the voice was a lot closer this time. It was followed by what sounded like someone stumbling, landing on the ground with a thud and a whine. Lây turned and took a step back in surprise.

You were sitting on the ground, looking at your scraped hand with a pout.

“A-are you okay?” Lây asked, not wanting to get any closer in case it would scare you. It was hard to stand and watch your hand bleed when he could easily do something about it though.

Lây felt like running away when you looked up at him, but he wanted to make sure you were okay first. You squinted your eyes slightly in the dim lighting but didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds as you observed him.

“You’re the one, right?” you then said. “Leaving things by my window? I saw you a while ago.”

Not wanting to lie to you, Lây nodded. He didn’t know what to expect – rejection most likely. But then why did you call for him like that?

You stood up, dusting off your pants and Lây took a couple of steps back to give you some space. As the light from a streetlamp hit his face, he saw you shrink back a little and he quickly averted his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” you asked, not unkindly, as you tilted your head curiously.

“I… I just look like this,” Lây shrugged. He eyed the hand you had hurt, cradled against your stomach. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“Oh? Uhm, yeah a little,” you grinned embarrassed, holding out the hand to look at it. “Fell over my own feet.”

Though he probably shouldn’t have asked, as his powers would most likely freak you out, the words left Lây’s mouth before he could stop them, “I can help you if you’ll let me?”

You pulled your hand back, eyeing Lây up and down. You were quiet for so long, Lây was sure you were going to turn down the offer. But then you slowly held out your hand again, looking up at him apprehensively. God, you were too trusting. He had almost hoped you would turn him down. Your good heart could get you hurt someday.

“I won’t hurt you,” he mumbled as he gently took your hand in his. The scrape wasn’t that deep, and it had already stopped bleeding, but it probably still stung a lot. He closed his eyes and let the warmth of his powers take over, flowing out through his hands and into yours.

A small gasp left you when you realized what was happening, but you didn’t pull back. 

“Oh,” you breathed in awe as the scrapes healed themselves in front of your eyes. “How… how are you doing that?”

“I don’t really know,” Lây said, stepping back once he was done. He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by staying too close.

Silence fell over the two of you again as you slowly traced over your hand where the scrape had been. Lây took the opportunity to observe you. It was the first time he could look at you up close like this and probably the last. He wanted to make the moment count. Your eyes met his.

“Thank you for the flowers,” you then said, giving a kind smile. “And the shiny rocks. They made me smile every morning. And it was kind of exciting, y’know, having a secret admirer.” 

Lây’s heart skipped a beat as you laughed softly. “I’m… I’m sorry I scared you,” he mumbled. “And I’m sorry for… everything. I shouldn’t have followed you like that. But I’m glad I could make you smile. That was what I wanted.”

“I forgive you,” you said, taking a small step towards Lây who felt his cheeks get warm. He wasn’t used to having you look at him. “And I have to admit I’ve missed the flowers. You can make it up to me though – walk me to the bus tomorrow?”

Lây didn’t even hesitate a second before nodding happily. He felt like he was flying. Like he was dreaming. But you were right there in front of him, smiling.

“I’m Y/N by the way,” you introduced yourself. Y/N… he loved it. 

“Lây,” Lây said, unable to keep the grin off his face.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then, Lây?” Your smile was blinding when Lây nodded again. 


	4. Chanyeøl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M

Chanyeøl wished he had someone there to physically restrain him from leaving the shadows of the alley. It took every bit of willpower for him to stay put, though the urge to hurt those men was nearly overpowering. Rage burned within him as he watched the two men catcall loudly after you, while you passed them on the street.

You looked obviously uncomfortable, drawing your jacket closer around your body as you picked up the pace, doing your best to ignore them. The two men did not like being ignored though and started following you down the street. Chanyeøl couldn’t hear what they were saying to you, but by the disgusting grins on their faces and the fear on yours, it was not something you wanted to hear.

The closer they got, the harder it became for Chanyeøl to stay put where he was. But he did not want to reveal himself and scare you more than you already were.

“C’mon, darling,” one of the men purred, his face too close to yours. “You know you want to.”

“I – I really don’t,” you stammered, unable to lean back from his face as it meant leaning right into the other guy. You were trapped between them. “My parents are expecting me home. P-please, let me go.”

“Now, sweetheart,” the other said, putting his grubby hand on your chin to turn your head towards him. Chanyeøl felt himself bristle at that and the darkness surrounding him was lit up by an orange glow. “We both know that’s a lie, don’t we? Now, why don’t you come with us, hmm? We’ll make sure you have a good time tonight.”

“Please don’t,” your voice was shaking, and you were close enough for Chanyeøl to see the tears slowly running down your cheeks. Your eyes were frantically looking around in hopes of finding anyone who could help you. But the street was practically deserted except for a couple of drunk students hanging out by the only open bar.

The last bit of self-control Chanyeøl had gone out the window when the guy on your right reached down and put his hand in your back pocket, squeezing harshly.

Red coloured Chanyeøl’s vision as he stepped out from the shadows, now behind you. All he could hear was his own pulse beating loudly in his ears, everything else drowned out by pure rage. No one put a hand on you and got away with it.

“Get away from her,” he growled.

The two men turned around slowly, bringing you around with them as the one on the right still had a tight grip on you. All the self-confidence they’d had completely drained the second they saw Chanyeøl, the orange flames licking up Chanyeøl’s arms reflected in their wide eyes. 

Chanyeøl did not want to look at you, did not want to see the fear, but he forced himself to find your eyes and hoped his intent to protect you was clear. “Run,” he said. “Go straight home. They won’t follow you.”

You did not need to be told twice, and neither of the men tried to stop you as you turned and sprinted down the street.

Left were only the two men, and they were too slow to get away. Chanyeøl did not kill them, he had left that part of his life behind him and he was afraid to go back down that road. But he made sure that they would never be able to put their hands on another person like that again.

He left them in front of the police station and did not look back as he returned to the safety of his alley. Any remorse he felt disappeared as he thought about how terrified you had been.

Chanyeøl had been hiding, living, in that alley ever since he arrived in this world. Scared and alone he had tried to find his footing, his memories nothing but a haze of pain and blood. You worked in a restaurant not far from this alley and usually worked the latest shifts. Chanyeøl wasn’t sure how, but you must have seen him at some point because not long after Chanyeøl had settled there, food would be left by the entrance almost every night. Usually scraps and leftovers, but it was better than anything Chanyeøl could ever have found in the dumpsters. Once you had even left a blanket and some knitted mittens. 

He wanted to thank you for your kindness, but he stayed away. If you saw what he looked like, Chanyeøl was afraid you would stop. He learned your routines and would stay away from the alley when you dropped off the food, instead hiding further down the street, watching you as you peeked curiously into the darkness in hopes of maybe spotting the homeless you were feeding.

Sometimes, Chanyeøl would follow you a little bit as you walked home. It was late at night and he didn’t want you to get hurt on your way. There was a couple of times where he was afraid you had noticed him, but if you had, you never showed it.

No one in this world had shown him kindness other than you. No one in his world knew kindness. Chanyeøl wanted to protect that. He would give his life if it came to that. This world didn’t seem as brutal as his own had been though. It gave him some comfort.

­_

Chanyeøl stared blankly at the tv screen in front of him. He had been wandering up and down the shopping street as he would sometimes do at night to get a change of scenery. An electronics store had a couple of tv screens displayed in the window that showed a 24-hour news channel and Chanyeøl had spent many hours there to kill time.

The two men from the night before were shown on the screen. A picture of them both from the hospital with large parts of their bodies covered in bandages. Chanyeøl had been nice and hadn’t touched their faces. The headline read that they claimed to have been attacked by some kind of monster. Chanyeøl’s lips curved into a wry smile. They weren’t wrong.

A description of Chanyeøl had been given, but he was surprised by how lacking it was. His pink hair had been covered by a hoodie, but his eyes were hard to miss, not to mention the huge scar across his face, and yet they hadn’t been mentioned. _Tall; wearing black; can breathe fire._ Chanyeøl nearly laughed. At least no one would be coming after him. The two men wouldn’t dare return to the scene. He made sure of that.

With a sigh, Chanyeøl stuck his hands in his hoodie pockets and turned to head back. You would have left the food by now and was probably on your way home. His stomach was growling as he hadn’t eaten anything all day, and he couldn’t wait to see what you had left him this time.

It was some kind of stew, still lukewarm, and it tasted like heaven on an empty stomach. Chanyeøl lapped it all up, feeling content as he sat cross-legged on his old mattress. He had a partial roof over his head, a place to sleep and someone bringing him food – it wasn’t much, but Chanyeøl wasn’t complaining.

“H-hello?” a timid voice called from out on the street and Chanyeøl froze with the spoon halfway to his mouth. They couldn’t have been speaking to him, could they? He stayed completely still in hopes of whoever it was moving on.

“I know you’re down there,” they continued. A girl by the sound of the voice. She was trying to sound brave, but her voice shook as she spoke. “I saw you.”

Chanyeøl slowly put down the bowl and wiped his mouth, his eyes trained on the entrance to the alley. He couldn’t see anyone though, as the alley ended in a slight turn to the left. It couldn’t possibly be the police, they would have stormed in guns blazing. Chanyeøl had an idea of who it could be, but there was no way.

“What do you want?” he asked loudly, making his voice gruffer than it was in hopes of scaring her off.

There was a pause and Chanyeøl hoped they she had gone away. But then she spoke up again, “Could – could you come out here? Please?” her voice was shaking worse and Chanyeøl couldn’t believe she hadn’t run off yet. A small hope was bubbling up inside him. “I want to thank you. I – I have cake?”

Slowly, Chanyeøl got up and made his way towards the voice. He turned the corner and stopped short. It was you standing there, dimly lit by the nearby streetlights. You stood with your back straight and shoulders squared, but your eyes showed every bit of the fear you were feeling.

At the sight of Chanyeøl, you jumped back startled before quickly straightening up again like it hadn’t happened. Chanyeøl bit back a smile. You were quite cute, trying to act all brave.

Chanyeøl realized too late that his hood was still down and that you would be able to see his whole face as he walked closer into the light. A small gasp left you, but you surprisingly stood your ground, your eyes unable to stay away from his face too long.

Feeling too exposed in front of you like this, Chanyeøl ducked his head and took a couple of steps back into the darkness. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

It seemed your bravery had run out though, and you mumbled something unintelligible before shuffling forwards, showing the box at Chanyeøl before quickly making your exit.

As promised, you had indeed brought him a cake. A leftover piece of strawberry shortcake that Chanyeøl savoured, eating it slowly with a smile on his face.

_

For the next couple of days, things went back to normal and Chanyeøl wondered if that night had been a dream.

He was once again returning to his alley after waiting for you to leave after dropping off the food. This time though, you hadn’t left. Chanyeøl paused at the end of the street, unsure if he should approach or not. Perhaps you had just got there. But after a couple of minutes, it became clear that you were waiting.

As you look around for the third time, you finally spotted Chanyeøl and even from where he stood, he could see you tense up as you turned to fully face him.

“Hi,” you greeted him with an uneasy smile as he got closer. It seemed you had trouble figuring out whether you should look at his face or not, and Chanyeøl couldn’t help but smile sadly. If only he didn’t look like this, you wouldn’t be as scared of him.

“Hi,” he echoed. He wasn’t sure what to say or do. He wanted you to feel like the one in charge.

“I – I brought some cake again. I hope you liked the last one,” you said, holding out the box in your hands. “Carrot cake this time.”

Chanyeøl didn’t say anything but carefully took the box from your hands, cradling it to his chest. He wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve something like this from you for a second time, but he thanked whoever was listening.

“What was…” you started to ask, a little braver, but you trailed off. Chanyeøl tilted his head curiously. “What’s your name?”

It probably wasn’t what you had wanted to ask first, but Chanyeøl didn’t mind. He didn’t want to confirm your thoughts about his powers just yet. It was nice talking to you like this, and he didn’t want it to end.

“Chanyeøl,” he answered.

“Chanyeøl…” you repeated slowly, a small, shy smile growing on your face. “Thank you for helping me that day, Chanyeøl. I was really scared. I’m Y/N.”

Chanyeøl smiled to himself. Y/N… he liked that.

You were quiet for a little while before speaking again. “I’m working tomorrow night too,” you said, and Chanyeøl didn’t want to tell you that he already knew your schedule by heart. “Why don’t you uhm… You can come by and get something to eat. On me, of course. As a proper thank you.”

Chanyeøl wanted nothing more than to be able to take you up on your offer, and your hopeful smile was tugging on his heartstrings, but… “I – I really shouldn’t,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “Look at me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” you said, and Chanyeøl appreciated that you at least tried to sound convincing. He let out a dry laugh.

“You should see some of the people we get this time of night,” you continued, voice kinder now. “You won’t stick out at all. I promise. And… I was hoping we could talk a little? I have a lot of questions.”

Now, there was really no way Chanyeøl could say no to that. He was surprised by how fast you had shed any of the fear you felt when first approaching him, but also really happy that you didn’t see him as a threat.

“Okay,” he answered. Your smile had his knees feeling weak. 


	5. Suhø

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M

Suhø sighed and threw the magazine he had been reading to the side. Seeing all the rich and famous people smiling on every page had him feeling sad and stupid. He looked around the abandoned warehouse that he had made his own after arriving in the Human world too long ago. It was down by the harbour so it always smelled vaguely of fish and there was no power so after the sun went down, he had to rely on half-burnt candles that he stole from a dingy pub nearby.

He had managed to secure himself some old furniture – or, more precisely, an ancient couch, a dining table and a couple of mismatched chairs. He had either found them left on a curb somewhere waiting for the garbage truck to pick them up, or he had jumped a fence and nicked it from someone’s backyard. Even the clothes he wore was stolen, but for the clothes, he went for more expensive pieces. He wanted to look the part even if he had no money.

It was impossible to get a job, no one would hire him with the scars all over his face and the crazy red hair that was just absolutely impossible to dye for some reason. So Suhø had to steal everything he needed. He wasn’t proud of it, but he had to survive. And considering what his old life had been like, this was miles better. He never wanted to go back to that. The memories still kept him up at night.

At least here he didn’t have to fight anyone to survive. He didn’t have to kill. Stealing was nothing.

The only thing he had to entertain himself with was the magazines, and the stacks had kept growing over time. The magazines were easy to steal, and he told himself that no one would really miss them as they were cheap anyway. They taught him a lot about the Human world, about their selfishness and superficial lives. He wanted it so bad. Money. A house.

He sighed, looking at the stack closest to him. He had already read those over a couple of times by now and was getting bored of them. Perhaps it was time to go get some new ones. Suhø usually went once or twice every two weeks.

There was a gas station a couple of streets from his warehouse that also contained a small shop. It had most of the essentials you would need, and it was Suhø´s preferred place to go. There was always only one person working there at a time, and it was easy to quickly stuff something down his bag when they weren’t looking. Some of the people working there probably knew what he was doing as well but just didn’t care.

It was quite late but Suhø went anyway. The shop was open until midnight, so he had time. Suhø recognized you behind the counter. You were one of the regular employees there, usually working the late shifts.

Suhø pulled his hoodie tighter around his head, making sure it completely hid his hair. He couldn’t do anything about his face, but he wasn’t planning on facing you anyway. As long as the cameras didn’t pick up his very recognizable red hair, he would be fine.

He walked up and down the short aisles, glancing at you every now and then. There weren’t any other customers so hopefully you would turn your attention elsewhere soon, at least just long enough for Suhø to swipe some magazines, and maybe some pot noodles now that he was there. He was getting kind of hungry and he didn’t have that much left back at home.

Finally, you sat down behind the counter and pulled out your phone. Suhø took the chance and quickly pulled off some magazines from the shelf, stuffing a single pot noodle into his jacket as well, and headed for the exit.

“I can’t keep paying for you, you know,” you suddenly spoke up, making Suhø freeze in his tracks.

He turned and his eyes met yours, as you were now looking up from your phone, eyebrows raised in slight annoyance. Suhø didn’t really know what to say, no one had looked him straight in the eyes like that for years without showing even a little bit of fear. Could you not see his face from where you were? 

“Even magazines and crappy food get expensive over time,” you continued, tilting your head with narrowed eyes. “Pay for yourself next time, okay?”

You had been covering for him all this time? Without saying anything? Suhø had never met another Human that had shown him kindness like that. It left him a little speechless, a warmth spreading through his chest. He wanted to thank you, but the words got caught in his throat.

Suhø didn’t know what came over him, but he couldn’t handle the thought of you pitying him. He didn’t want pity from someone like you, someone beautiful enough to be in those magazines and not here in a dingy gas station in the middle of the night. He wanted you to look at him with admiration.

“Oh, my mistake,” he drawled, turning around with a self-important expression that he had seen on the cover of most magazines. Lists and lists of the most eligible single celebrities that all looked like they had smelled something nasty right before having their photo taken. Humans apparently like that. “I guess I just forgot. I mean, it’s not worth a lot so why even bother?”

Your frown turned to a scowl and you crossed your arms. “Excuse me?”

The way you were staring daggers at him made Suhø nervous. He needed to get out before you saw through him. He hadn’t been prepared to face you like this.

Without saying anything else, he just raised a brow and shrugged, dropping the items he had taken on a nearby shelf before leaving. He nearly stumbled out of the door, his face feeling hot in the cool night air. Had you been able to see the blush on his face? He hoped not.

He walked back to his warehouse almost in a daze. All he could see was how you had looked up at him for the first time, meeting his eyes. Even in the ghastly lighting of the store, you were beautiful. It had crossed his mind a couple of times in the past when he had seen you, but actually looking straight at your face… Suhø had no words.

The first thing he did after arriving back home, was to pull out every single magazine that said anything about dating. How should he impress you? 

Almost every woman on the pages of the magazines was covered in expensive jewellery, advertising pretty bottles of perfumes and fancy clothes with matching handbags. Humans seemed to like the more expensive things in life, truly a materialistic race. But Suhø wanted to impress you, so that was what he was going to get you.

The next morning, he put on the cleanest pair of clothes he had, covered his hair, and headed for the shopping street in the nearby city. The shops were just starting to open and there weren’t a lot of people around yet.

Jewellery was easy to steal, little pieces of glittering silver easily hidden in his pockets. Perfumes proved a bit trickier until Suhø realized he could remove the bottles from the boxes to make them fit in his clothes.

He almost couldn’t wait to go back to the gas station that night and left home early enough to watch you clock in for your nightshift. The early night-crowd died down pretty quick and Suhø made his move.

You looked up, your customer-ready smile disappearing the second your eyes fell on him.

“Oh, it’s you again,” you sighed, shaking your head. “Listen, either you pay, or you leave.”

Suhø felt his heart skip a beat, guilt creeping up inside him, but he kept his face emotionless. He walked up to the counter, hopefully looking more confident than what he felt like, his hand closed tightly around the diamond necklace he wanted to give you.

During the few seconds it took to reach you, Suhø tried to come up with something cool to say but it was like he had forgotten how to even speak a simple sentence. You were staring him down, eyes wavering slightly when he finally came to a stop in front of the counter.

Your eyes went wide as he held out the necklace towards you, and you slowly looked back up at his face.

“What?” you asked.

“Compensation,” he drawled. “Didn’t need it. Should cover my expenses, no?”

“I – what?” you repeated, pointing at the glittering necklace. “That probably costs more than my house, and you’re _giving_ it to me? Wha – if you can afford shit like that, why the fuck are you stealing?”

Having no idea what to say to that without giving himself away, Suhø just shrugged and put the necklace on the counter. “Take it,” he said. “I wanted to get rid of it anyway. If you don’t like it, sell it.”

With that he left the store quickly, afraid that you would see right through his fake bravado. His heart was pounding in his chest. Had you liked it? It was hard to tell. Maybe you didn’t want something that flashy – something more subtle perhaps?

_

Not wanting to overwhelm you, and because he didn’t want to steal too much to put an even bigger target on his back, Suhø went to drop off a gift about once a week if he could. Be it something simple like a scented candle that had reminded him of you, or expensive diamond earrings, Suhø tried his best to impress you.

Every time you would try and protest, even shoving the gifts back at him, but Suhø always managed to leave without taking anything back. You deserved everything he brought, and even you wouldn’t be able to change his mind about that. If you asked him, he would steal you the moon.

He had never seen you wearing any of the jewellery he had brought you, but it was probably for the best working in the place that you did. It would attract too much unwanted attention.

That night, he was bringing you a pair of earrings shaped like lily flowers. They had caught his attention, sparkling prettily in the display case, and he had thought of you.

You had a weird look on your face when you spotted Suhø entering the shop. The past couple of times, you had been less hostile and more… resigned, and he had hoped it meant you were warming up to him.

“Okay listen,” you said as he stopped in front of the counter and the hand holding the earrings froze midair. “This… I really need you to stop. Please. I don’t know what you want from me.”

Your voice was shaking but you stared him right in the eyes defiantly. “I don’t want all of this! I – where are you even getting it all? And don’t tell me you’ve bought it!”

Suhø frowned and moved to hold out the earrings to you, but when you flinched back, he froze again. He watched you cower against the back wall, heart dropping to his stomach. All your previous bravado had vanished. You looked terrified.

“I… I’m – “ he started but didn’t know what to say. He must have gotten it wrong. The magazines hadn’t prepared him for this.

“I thought you would like it…” he eventually managed to get out. “I wanted to thank you. For paying for me all this time. For not turning me in.”

“Well don’t!” you spat. You looked like you were fighting back tears. “If I had known it would lead to this, I would’ve never done it. So, leave me alone, _please_.”

You reached under the counter and dropped an old bag onto it, pushing it towards Suhø before quickly stepping back out of reach. “Here, everything you’ve given me. Take it back, I don’t want it.”

Suhø stared at the bag in defeat. He had blown it. There was no way of winning you back. How had he gotten it this wrong? With a last mumbled apology, he grabbed the bag and left the shop. It wasn’t meant to go this way, he just wanted to repay your kindness.

_

Suhø did as you told him and put everything back to where he had taken it. The jewellery, perfumes and various trinkets were left outside the shops where he had stolen them. He felt terrible, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. All the magazines had been thrown out. He wanted nothing to do with them.

Afraid that he had become too recognizable after stealing so much, Suhø decided it was time to move cities. That way he wouldn’t accidentally run into you either. He was sure you would appreciate it if he moved as far away as possible.

But first, he really wanted to properly apologize to you. To let you know that he never ever meant you any harm and that you were safe. He didn’t want you to go around looking over your shoulder in fear.

So, for the last time, he headed for the gas station where you worked. It should be around the beginning of your shift by now and Suhø wanted to catch you before you clocked in.

It was raining heavily as Suhø walked the dark roads, but the water never touched him. He didn’t feel like facing you completely soaked to the bone.

You were struggling with the keys to the door when Suhø eventually reached the small shop, swearing loudly as they slipped from your fingers and landed in a puddle. You didn’t have an umbrella with you and your jacket looked very thin. Even from where he stood, Suhø could see you already shivering from the cold rain seeping into your clothes.

He held out his hand and the rain stopped falling where you stood, repelled by an invisible force. It took a while before you noticed, but as you straightened up after getting your keys, you looked up confused. The rain was still falling all around you, hitting the puddle where you had dropped your keys, but none of the water was hitting you.

You looked around in wonder, holding out your hand to try and catch the rain falling just beyond your reach, but the invisible shield moved with you, preventing the water from touching your skin.

Suhø took a careful step forwards into the light, footsteps louder on the wet ground and your head snapped up.

“You should have brought an umbrella,” he said with a careful smile. “Don’t want to catch a cold.”

“Y-you?” you asked, then held out your hand towards him. “Are you seeing this? The rain is not hitting me, how does that – “ you trailed off, eyes moving over Suhø’s completely dry clothes.

“Are you doing this?” you then asked, openly gaping when Suhø nodded bashfully. “ _How?_ ”

“I don’t know, I just… can,” Suhø answered honestly.

“Oh…” you trailed off.

Suhø cleared his throat awkwardly and it seemed to snap you out of your wonder, suddenly realizing who you were talking to, and Suhø’s heart hurt when he saw you tense up. He took a step back to show he meant no harm.

“I just wanted to apologize,” he said, unable to look at you for too long. “I didn’t mean to scare you. And… thank you, really, for helping me. I won’t bother you anymore.”

His stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly and he felt his face heat up. It had been a couple of days since he’d had anything proper to eat. He bowed before turning to leave.

“Wait.”

Suhø turned around slowly, confused. Your eyes were flicking between him and the store uncertainly before you sighed and opened the door.

“At least eat something before you go.” Your smile was tiny and wary, but it was there. 


	6. Xiumïn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M

Xiumïn crept through the shadows of the dark street, making sure to stay far enough away from you so he wouldn’t be discovered. He knew it was creepy and wrong, knew you would be terrified if you found out. But he couldn’t help himself. He just wanted to make sure that you made it home safe from work.

You worked at a grocery store and often had the late-night closing shift. The grocery store was where Xiumïn first met you. He had gone there to try and get a job. To try and look as normal as possible, he had stolen a cap and a facemask from a passerby to cover the worst parts of his appearance. Once he had gotten hired and they realized he was a hard worker, maybe they would be more tolerant about his looks. At least that was what he had hoped.

It had been you on shift that night, and after Xiumïn had explained his situation – obviously leaving out the more… fantastical parts – you had done everything to try and help him. He heard how you tried to sweet-talk your boss into hiring him, promised you would take full responsibility for him and for his training. But the boss wasn’t having it.

You had almost been more dejected about the rejection than Xiumïn had and had even promised that if he came by sometime again, you would try again. For the first time in his existence, Xiumïn had felt hope that things could get better for him.

But of course, hope was never allowed to last long. As you had showed him out, a customer decided to rudely walk almost straight into you instead of moving out of the way, and you would have fallen to the floor if Xiumïn hadn’t caught you.

The guy was about twice Xiumïn’s size and obviously not in a good mood. Right away he had demanded an apology from you. 

Xiumïn was not having it. Things turned violent when the guy thought it was a good idea to push Xiumïn, and somewhere in the scuffle Xiumïn’s disguise was ripped off. The reaction had been immediate. His purple hair may not have been an issue, but his clear, white eyes and scarred face had the guy freezing on the spot. With no going back, Xiumïn decided he might as well send the guy running with a proper warning to never bother you again.

Grabbing onto the guy’s hand, Xiumïn had stared him straight into the eyes as he slowly dropped the temperature. He took some pleasure in watching the guy’s expression go from rage to confusion and then finally, to pain. Panic. Xiumïn never felt the cold on his own skin, but he could feel as the hand he was crushing started shaking.

Their breaths came out in white puffs and the guy was trembling, staring at his hand in horror, mouth open to scream but no sound came out. Only then had Xiumïn let go and the guy was gone in a second.

Xiumïn had then turned to check if you were alright, only to find that you had run away. 

Taking the hint, Xiumïn hadn’t appeared in front of you again. Instead, he stuck to creeping around in the shadows, keeping you safe from afar. It was the least he could do after you helped him that day.

You passed in front of where he was and Xiumïn held his breath, feeling his heart ache. He had never gotten to thank you for trying to help him that day. He wanted you to know how much it meant to him. Holding it back whenever you were close was torture, but he had to.

As he stepped back, his foot caught on something that made a hollow sound and you froze, head snapping towards the sound. Xiumïn was hidden so far back in the shadows that the streetlights couldn’t reach him, but he worried that you might be able to see him move, so he stood perfectly still, holding his breath. With a frown, you pulled your coat tighter around you and hurried along.

_

The next night, Xiumïn waited at his usual spot, smiling to himself when he saw you round the corner from the street where the store was. You were never on time, always staying late to make sure everything was perfect before you locked up.

Right then, a young man suddenly appeared in front of the alley Xiumïn was hiding in, Xiumïn having been so caught up in watching you that he hadn’t heard him come closer. He was swaying dangerously as he walked and his eyes were dazed, unable to focus on anything as he stumbled forwards. He was obviously drunk out of his mind.

Xiumïn saw the second you were noticed as the guy’s face lit up in a creepy grin, and he called out a slurred “hey baby” followed by what should probably have been a whistle but instead sounded like a whiny hiss.

The guy was gone before you even looked up, Xiumïn pulling him into the alley by his shirt collar. He shoved him against the brick wall, a freezing hand around his throat.

“Don’t scream,” Xiumïn hissed quietly. “It’ll only make it worse.”

Nodding frantically, fear shining from his eyes, the guy let out a weak whimper. Xiumïn shoved him away and towards the other exit of the alley. Not even thinking twice, the drunk scrambled away, crying.

You were still standing in the street, looking around confused. Xiumïn moved further back into the shadows to avoid being spotted. When you saw nothing unusual, you kept going, hurrying along down the street.

After that night, Xiumïn noticed that you were a lot more alert when walking home. Every little sound seemed to make you jump. Every time, Xiumïn wanted to go out there and assure you that he would let no harm come to you, but he couldn’t.

Hiding in the shadows like he had been was now more difficult after you started paying attention to your surroundings. There were multiple times where Xiumïn could have sworn that your eyes met but then you would continue like you had seen nothing.

Sometimes he was tempted to try and approach you, but he held back. He was doing this for your sake, not his own. Maybe once he had finally found a proper job and could disguise himself better, he would try again. On the day he could finally be a person worth being near you, he would try. But now was not the time.

No matter how hard he tried, no one would hire him. He was getting desperate. The logical thing would probably be to try moving to another city, but the thought of leaving you made him hesitate. What if you got hurt?

_

It was night again and Xiumïn had waited for you for a while. You were staying late again, a common occurrence lately. He worried you weren’t getting enough rest. 

He stepped out of the alley to get a closer look and the second after you rounded the corner, already looking straight up at where he was. Xiumïn quickly shot back into the shadows but he knew you had seen him. He closed his eyes, holding his breath and hoped to hear you walking away. You were a smart person; you wouldn’t go poking around dark alleyways in the middle of the night.

“Hello?” Your voice was too close.

Xiumïn sighed and moved further back. He wanted to go scold you about being reckless. Walking home this late alone was dangerous enough as it was, you should not be following strangers into the darkness. He thought you were smarter than that. But he wouldn’t give in no matter how hard it was to stay hidden when you were _right there._

He kept edging further and further back into the darkness, planning on running towards the other exit once he was sure you weren’t too close. Once he reached the light pouring in from the other street, he turned around, ready to take off when –

“Xiumïn? Is that you?”

His body wouldn’t move though his mind was screaming at him to get away. 

“It is, isn’t it?” You were almost right behind him now, but he didn’t turn around. The streetlamp was close enough to illuminate his face and he wasn’t wearing a disguise.

“Y/N you should go home,” he said, voice strained. Don’t come closer. Don’t look at me. Please. “It’s not safe out here this late at night.”

“I’ve been just fine,” you insisted stubbornly and Xiumïn almost smiled. “But I have you to thank for that as well, haven’t I?”

Xiumïn didn’t answer but his shoulders tensing up was apparently all the answer you needed. So now you knew he had been following you around for weeks. Xiumïn wanted to run.

“Won’t you turn around?” you then asked. “It feels weird talking to your back.”

Immediately Xiumïn shook his head, but he should have known that wouldn’t stop you. You went quiet and if it hadn’t been because he hadn’t heard you move, he would have thought you had left. But suddenly you were right there in front of him. The second your eyes met, you flinched back and Xiumïn was ready to just run away but you quickly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“No wait, don’t. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, people are usually scared of monsters,” Xiumïn smiled wryly.

“I haven’t heard of any monsters looking for a job,” you countered, smile genuine. “And I am sorry. About running away back then. You were only trying to help me.” 

Not really knowing what to say, Xiumïn shrugged. He could feel his ears getting warm and he had a hard time looking you in the eyes. He felt too exposed like this. But your initial discomfort seemed to have disappeared completely.

You opened your mouth only to close it again, biting you lip, hesitating as if not really knowing whether you should ask or not.

“It’s okay,” Xiumïn said. He didn’t have anything to hide. Whatever you wanted to know, he’d tell you.

“Back then… I thought I saw –” You paused, looking for the right words. “Ice. It looked like ice. How did you…?”

Xiumïn lifted his hand, palm upwards. He didn’t even have to concentrate, the energy flowing through him as easy as breathing. A frost flower slowly formed, blooming in his hand like it was alive. You let out a soft gasp and leaned in closer, your eyes filled with wonder.

“It’s beautiful,” you breathed.

“I’ve always been able to do this,” Xiumïn explained quietly. His heart was pounding in his chest. He wasn’t used to someone admiring his powers like that. “I don’t know why. I can’t remember.”

“I’m sorry,” you said, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

He smiled half-heartedly. “It’s probably for the best. I don’t think I want to know.”

The two of you were quiet for a while, just admiring the flower still slowly growing in Xiumïn’s palm. It felt strange, having you this close after having watched over you for so long. Xiumïn didn’t know what to do with himself. What should he say?

“Have you found a job yet?” you asked eventually and Xiumïn shook his head.

“I’ve been thinking about trying out a different city,” he admitted.

“Maybe you don’t have to,” you grinned, taking out your phone. “A friend of mine needs a bartender. Let me call him and see if he has time to meet you. He’s not fussy about looks as long as you’re a hard worker.”

You started walking away, leaving a stunned Xiumïn behind, hope blooming in his chest. This was it. He could really be getting a job. This could turn his life around.

“Come on,” you called over your shoulder, laughing. “Let’s go. He’s still open.”


	7. D.Õ

D.Õ was staring again. He knew it, but he couldn’t help it.

The world around him had always been blurry and out of focus. His vision had been damaged for as long as he could remember, though he had no memories of the actual incident. The only thing he knew was that it had nearly killed him. He was left scarred, his eyes damaged and with a constant, splitting headache. 

He had always been seen as the weaker one, the one to be picked on. No one ever thought he was going to last long in his world. For a while, neither had he. But he had survived this long somehow. He had stayed out of trouble, living under the radar for most of his life, and he had done things he was not proud of to defend himself when he needed to.

And here, in the Human World, he was still lost. Why had they sent him there instead of just killing him? Sometimes he wondered if death had been the lesser punishment after all.

Living in a park in the middle of a huge city was not the most glamorous life, but as D.Õ was by far the scariest thing in the area, no one ever bothered him. If someone dared to try, they would be sent running in seconds. D.Õ had realized quickly that powers like his weren’t common in this world and he used that to his advantage.

The sound of laughter brought D.Õ out of his thoughts and he blinked, trying to focus. You were smiling brightly at someone by your side. Y/N was your name – D.Õ had heard someone calling after you one day. You would walk home through the park every day, often accompanied by friends, but D.Õ never paid much attention to them.

In the blurry world he had lived in all his life, you were by far the brightest person he had ever seen. Somehow, it was like he could see you better than anything else. You had drawn his attention the first time D.Õ had ventured close to the public path at the right time of day, and D.Õ had found himself staring ever since. He tried so hard to focus, not wanting to miss a single detail about you. His head would always hurt after you had disappeared in the distance, but for D.Õ it was worth it.

Multiple times he had tried to convince himself that he should try to approach you. But he chickened out every time. He had seen himself in the cracked public bathroom mirrors and knew that he looked nothing like the humans walking around. With his scarred face and glaring stare, his eyes having turned an awful red after the attack, he would never be able to blend in. He had sent enough people running without even trying. He didn’t want to scare you too. 

So, he kept his distance and just watched. He told himself that as long as you didn’t notice, it wouldn’t do any harm. It wasn’t like he was there only for you after all, so it wasn’t that creepy. Hopefully.

He watched as you passed in front of him, laughing along with your friend, and he kept watching until he could no longer see you. He spent another couple of hours watching people pass by him until the crowd died down, and then he went back to what had become his home at the very outskirts of the park, where he had raised the ground to create a dirt mound large enough to sleep in. He would do the same routine every single day.

_

D.Õ sat under a tree not far from the path, enjoying the sounds of bustling life around him. The weather was perfect, and he was content to just sit with his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin.

He heard your laugh before he saw you and opened his eyes to the familiar blurry world. You were with your friends again, and D.Õ felt an aching longing for a life where he could be someone walking next to you like that. He wanted more than anything to be someone you could look at and smile, someone who could make you laugh. Even if it wasn’t you next to him, D.Õ wanted to be normal more than anything.

Your laughter stopped abruptly and D.Õ blinked a couple of times, suddenly realizing that you were looking straight at him, catching him staring. He quickly stood up, panicked at the thought of getting discovered. You weren’t supposed to ever know that he had been watching you.

Not knowing what else to do, he ran.

_

It took a couple of days where D.Õ kept to himself in his cave, afraid to have to face you again, but he couldn’t stay away for long. And though he did miss seeing your smile, what he really missed was everything about sitting under that tree. Hearing the children laughing from the playground nearby, seeing the ducks swim around in the lake and getting excited whenever someone came to feed them, just watching people pass by and live their lives. And people rarely even noticed he was there, so he could pretend that he fit in with the perfect picture. That he was normal.

So, he found himself under the tree again. He told himself that he would leave before the time where you would pass through, but he got lost in his thoughts watching two beautiful swans floating serenely around on the glittering water.

A voice raised above the peaceful buzz of the crowd and D.Õ blinked, realizing he had been staring for a while without actually looking. His heart caught in his throat when he then realized he had somehow caught your eye and that you were storming towards him. He couldn’t quite make out the expression on your face, but he was sure you weren’t smiling.

“Y/N, no! Don’t be stupid!” the voice called; a friend of yours probably. “Can’t we just go?”

You ignored your friend, and D.Õ scrambled up to face you as you came to a stop in front of him.

“What is your problem?” you demanded, hands on your hips and a glare strong enough to kill.

D.Õ couldn’t find his voice, the words getting caught in his throat. You had never been that close to him before and though your face was still blurry, you were clearer than you had ever been, and you were stunning. The sun behind your head made it seem like you were glowing. 

“W-what?” he managed to choke out. 

“You’ve been glaring at me almost every day,” you accused, pointing at Kyungsoo but not quite touching him. “Are you a stalker or something? What is your problem?”

You were staring straight into his eyes like you weren’t bothered one bit by his scarred face and blood-red eyes, and D.Õ didn’t know what to do with himself.

“I – I‘m not,” he managed to stammer out. “I didn’t mean to.”

Rolling your eyes, you huffed and crossed your arms. “Yeah sure, so you just happen to be at the same place every day when I pass by? Of course.”

D.Õ wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole, very nearly commanded it to, but he didn’t want to accidentally pull you in with him. He hadn’t even realized that you had noticed he was there. It wasn’t like you were the only thing he was watching, and he often spent most of his day in the same spot both before and after you showed up.

“I uh… I live here,” he mumbled, averting his eyes in case he was accidentally glaring at you again. His heart was pounding in his ears and a headache was slowly creeping up from where he was trying to keep his eyes from squinting. 

“Oh…” your hands fell back down to your sides.

When you didn’t say anything else, D.Õ took it as his chance to get away and he gave a quick bow before hurrying back into the safety of the thick brush behind him. He stumbled back to his hole in the ground of a home and closed the opening behind him with a wall of dirt.

He vowed to himself that he would find a new place to live from now on. As soon as the sun rose the next day, he would go and find a new place for his home. He couldn’t bear the thought of you now knowing about him.

Hours passed and D.Õ didn’t move, allowing himself to wallow in self-pity for the time being. He had always known he wouldn’t fit into the world he watched every day, but having you of all people confirm it straight to his face was painful.

D.Õ didn’t know how long he lay there in the dark but at some point the world around him faded away and he fell into a dreamless sleep. 

_

Light was creeping in between the cracks of the walls around him when he opened his eyes. He sighed and rolled onto his back, every joint in his body cracking from lying on the ground. Even after finding some blankets left behind after a picnic, the ground was still unyieldingly hard and uncomfortable.

He didn’t want to get up, but his stomach was reminding him that he had barely eaten in the past three days. Though the weather had been good, there hadn’t been as many picnics as usual so the trash cans had been disappointingly empty. ‘

With another sigh he sat up and pressed on the wall next to him, forcing it back into the ground.

“Oh,” a voice squeaked and D.Õ jumped back, hitting his head on the wall behind him.

You were standing in front of his little hideout, hands held out in front of you like you had been carrying something, and when D.Õ looked down he saw a plastic container on the ground in front of you. He blinked several times, trying to clear the blur from his eyes but you were really there, staring at him with wide eyes.

“How did - ?” you stammered, eyes flickering from the dirt walls surrounding him to D.Õ’s face. “It disappeared! How did you do that?”

Not knowing how to answer that question, as he didn’t know the full answer himself, D.Õ just shrugged. He slowly got up and dusted himself off. Confused thoughts were racing through his head, so he kept quiet in fear of saying something stupid.

Apparently realizing he wasn’t going to speak, you looked around awkwardly only then noticing how you had dropped whatever it was you had brought. You quickly bent down and picked up the container, checking it over, before carefully holding it out towards D.Õ.

“Here,” you said with a small smile. “I uhm… I wanted to apologize for yesterday. It was uncalled for. I’m not usually like that, I’d had a bad day and… yeah. I’m sorry.”

D.Õ reached out and took the container, his stomach growling happily when seeing it was food. For a second he wanted to just shove it into his mouth, suddenly feeling so hungry it hurt, but he didn’t want to do that in front of you. “Thank you,” he mumbled. “And I’m sorry for scaring you. I didn’t mean to.”

“No don’t apologize,” you quickly said. “It’s not your fault that you… that you look like that.” Your voice trailed off as you spoke, realizing what you were saying was sounding offensive, but D.Õ tried to smile reassuringly. He knew what you meant and appreciated the fact that you tried. It was more than any other person had ever done. This was probably the longest conversation he’d ever had with anyone not trying to kill him.

You shuffled your feet around, looking back over your shoulder as if you wanted to leave and D.Õ felt his heart sink. Of course you didn’t want to stay and talk to him.

“My friend is waiting for me,” you explained, making a face as you looked back again. “So I better… I better go. But I’ll be back for the container later, is that okay? And I’ll bring something to eat, would a sandwich be okay?”

Just as quickly as he had fallen, D.Õ felt like he was flying. You were coming to see him again. Voluntarily. He did realize that it was probably out of pity for him, but he was honestly willing to take anything you wanted to give.

“Yes! I’ll be here,” he assured, feeling a smile take over his face. 


	8. Sehůn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out my [tumblr](https://guardians-of-exo.tumblr.com/) as well, I make lots of fun EXO stuff!xx  
> ~ M

“Oi Y/N!” Sehůn called with a grin, spotting you across the street. He had hoped he would run into you as it had been a couple of days since he last saw you. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought you were avoiding him.

You kept going like you hadn’t heard him and he clicked his tongue, tilting his head. With a quick wave of his hand, a gust of wind was blown down the street, sending your hair flying everywhere. That finally got your attention and you spun around, your eyes wide and your hair now sticking out all over the place. _Cute_. 

“Sehůn,” you greeted with a small smile and a nervous laugh. “Didn’t see you.”

“I’m sure,” Sehůn said, narrowing his eyes playfully. “Now, where are you going? I’m bored.”

“Oh, I – I was uhm,” you stuttered and Sehůn thought it was absolutely adorable. “I was just going grocery shopping. Not much fun, you don’t have to come with me.”

Laughing, Sehůn put his arm around your shoulders and started steering you down the street. “Sure, it’ll be fun! I’m here now,” he grinned, squeezing your shoulder. “I’ll keep you company.”

You let out another nervous laugh and mumbled something Sehůn couldn’t hear, but he paid it no mind. You were always shy around him, and he had learned to just take control of the conversation, otherwise you would probably never be able to get a word out. It really was cute how flustered you were.

He had met you not long after ending up in the Human world. You had been the only person who tried to help him when he felt lost and confused. At the time, he had brushed off your kind attempts at helping him, afraid it was a ruse to take him down. Back in his own world, there weren’t such things as kindness and selflessness, so he had been on edge and paranoid. He regretted that more than anything now and would do anything to win back your affections.

You were a little shy, but Sehůn wasn’t going to let that deter him. If he spent enough time with you, surely you would realize that he wasn’t the terrible person he had first seemed to be.

“Here, I’ll hold the basket,” Sehůn grinned, grabbing the shopping basket from your hands. “You just focus on filling it up.”

“O-okay,” you said, smiling awkwardly.

As the two of you walked along the aisles, it didn’t take long for Sehůn to realize that you looked uncomfortable. Your shoulders were hunched up and you kept glancing around, nibbling on your lips nervously. It was then Sehůn noticed how everyone seemed to be staring at the two of you, whispering amongst each other.

Sehůn frowned. He was well aware that he didn’t exactly look normal compared to Human standards, and he usually did attract a fair amount of looks wherever he went. But couldn’t they see that he was with someone? Were all Humans this rude?

He met the eye of a particularly nosy woman and glared, hoping she would get the message to back off. There was no way he was letting anyone ruin the time he had with you. She gasped and quickly scurried away, and he suppressed a smug smile. Had it not been for you, the lady wouldn’t have gotten off that easy.

It was always like this when he was with you. People would stare, point and whisper amongst each other without even trying to be subtle. Sehůn was used to it wherever he went, but he hated that you had to go through it. You always seemed so uncomfortable with all the attention.

A flash went off and Sehůn spun around, two teenagers looking startled at being caught, phones held out in front of them. Eyes narrowed, Sehůn tilted his head and grinned menacingly. Even you probably wouldn’t mind too much if he gave them a thorough scolding. He took a step towards them but was stopped by you gripping onto his arm.

“Sehůn, don’t,” you mumbled, grip tightening on his jacket. “Just let them go, please. Don’t cause a scene.”

You looked like you were about to cry, so Sehůn gave the teenagers one last scowl before retreating back to your side. Had he been alone, they wouldn’t have been able to run off with their tails between their legs like that. But Sehůn knew that your world didn’t work like his old world did, and he didn’t want to drag you into his darkness.

It didn’t take you long to find everything you needed, and Sehůn suspected you were skipping some things on your list to get out of there faster.

You were quiet as Sehůn walked you home. Of course, you were usually quiet around Sehůn, but you seemed more withdrawn than usual. He couldn’t help but feel that he had done something to upset you.

“Are you mad at me?” Sehůn asked, trying to hide the pout on his face. He didn’t like the dejected look on your face.

“No…” you answered hesitantly, hugging your arms closer to your chest. You were definitely lying.

“Y/N,” Sehůn sighed, reaching out to stop you by gently turning you around to face him. The second his hand touched your shoulder, you flinched back with a quiet gasp, startling Sehůn.

“S-sorry,” you laughed, but it sounded off.

“Y/N,” he tried again, tilting his head. “What’s wrong?”

You didn’t say anything but, much to Sehůn’s confusion, your eyes filled with tears. He had no idea how to react as he watched you silently cry, tears rolling down your cheeks. Should he hug you? Did you even want that? He hadn’t ever had to deal with anyone crying before. 

“No no no, I’m sorry,” he tried to calm you, reaching out to soothe you but stopping himself in the last second before he touched you. “Please don’t cry, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” He wasn’t even sure what he had done wrong, but he hated seeing you cry.

“I just want to go home,” you cried, wiping your eyes with your sleeve.

“Okay, yeah. Of course.” Sehůn scrambled to grab the grocery bags from you, adding to the ones he was already holding.

He shuffled awkwardly behind you all the way to your house, not quite sure what to do with himself. You were sniffling to yourself, looking incredibly small and sad, and Sehůn wanted nothing more than to give you a hug. He had never given anyone a hug before, but he had seen Humans do it all the time, and it always looked like it worked to cheer someone up. But he didn’t quite know how to actually do it.

When you got to your house, you silently grabbed the grocery bags from Sehůn, gave him a half-hearted smile and quickly went inside. The sound of the door locking was loud in Sehůn’s ears. Okay, so you were definitely upset with him, but didn’t want to tell him why.

Sehůn couldn’t hide the pout on his face as he left your house. He was going to make it up to you no matter what!

_

It was a couple of days before Sehůn found you again. He tried everything he could think of to make you smile, but nothing seemed to work. Your smiles became less frequent, and Sehůn was starting to notice how tired you looked all the time.

Time passed and no matter what Sehůn tried, you kept withdrawing from him. More often than not, you looked like you were about to cry, and Sehůn couldn’t touch you without you getting startled and flinching away.

He had tried asking what was wrong, wanting nothing more than to help, but you never told him anything. Sometimes, he tried following you around without you knowing, hoping he could maybe figure out what was bothering you. But he got nothing. Even without Sehůn around, you seemed nervous, and you would often look back over your shoulders like you expected someone to be following you.

Sehůn was clueless as to what to do. So when he spotted you out with some of your friends, he got the idea to ask them for help. They probably knew what was wrong, and what he could do to help you.

As he was walking towards you and your friends, you turned and smiled at the person next to you, and Sehůn paused. You had never smiled at him like that before. Did your eyes always crinkle like that when you smiled? And surely that dimple in your cheek hadn’t always been there.

The second you noticed Sehůn, your smile froze and then disappeared completely. Sehůn suddenly felt too exposed, like everyone around him was staring at him – judging him. So he turned and walked away, wanting the tight feeling in his chest to go away.

Was that your true smile? A smile that you had never shown Sehůn, but why? Sehůn was so sure that the two of you had been getting along well, but apparently he had been wrong.

Well, if that was how you wanted it, Sehůn didn’t care. So what if you had never smiled at him like that? Sehůn could just find someone else who wouldn’t mind having him around.

His fast pace slowed to a stop and he sighed. Who was he kidding? He wanted you to smile at him like that more than anything. He had really honestly thought that he had found someone who accepted him and yet…

He clenched his fist determinedly. It just meant that he had to try harder. Do better. He would show you that he was worthy of being someone you could call a friend.

And so Sehůn stepped up his game. Whenever he saw you, he always made sure to have some type of gift with him. It quickly became apparent that you didn’t want anything to do with stolen things, as you had vehemently rejected a necklace Sehůn had picked up from a street stall, so he stuck to flowers picked from the roadside and pretty rocks. These you accepted, though still hesitant.

No matter where you went, Sehůn was with you. He insisted on carrying your bags or whatever else he could help you with, wanting to make himself useful to you.

You still never smiled whenever he showed up, but Sehůn wasn’t going to give up that easily. Until you told him straight to his face that he should fuck off, he would do his best to win your affections. He kept trying to come up with new ideas of how he could show you that he was worth it. Perhaps if he was more normal like the other Humans?

It hit him one day as he was escorting you home from work and he stopped, smiling brightly at you. “Y/N will you help me get a job?” A job would help him make money – money that he could spend on nice things for you. Since he wouldn’t be stealing, you had to accept them, right?

“A job?” you asked, pausing in your tracks. “But… why?”

Sehůn stepped closer, eager to share his ideas with you. He was so excited that he couldn’t even feel sad about how you quickly stepped away, maintaining the distance between you. 

“So I can buy you stuff,” he explained. “And getting somewhere to live would be nice too.” If he got an actual home, he could invite you over like a proper Human. The back alleys he lived in now weren’t a place for you. How had he never thought about this before?

“Buy stuff… for me,” you repeated, sounding confused. You turned to look at Sehůn fully, studying him with a cute frown, biting your lip contemplatively. Sehůn just continued smiling at you, wanting to let you finish whatever you wanted to say first. 

“Sehůn why are you doing all of this to me – for me?” You stumbled over your words like you hadn’t been completely confident about speaking them out loud.

Tilting his head, Sehůn frowned confused. “Because I like you,” he answered simply. “You were nice to me.” He thought that had been obvious.

“Oh…” your voice trailed off. Your eyes were wide as you looked up at Sehůn again, like it was your first time seeing him.

“So?” he asked, grinning. “Will you help me?”

Your hesitation lasted only for a couple of seconds before you took a deep breath. “Okay,” you said, and then you smiled.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Chanyeøl](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223321) by [Tina908](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tina908/pseuds/Tina908)




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